Tuesday, January 2, 2018

Matt Spall's 30 favorite albums of 2017: number 26

The British music critic came up with 30 favorite albums. This is number 26.

Dyscarnate

With All Their Might

Unique Leader Records

“Generally speaking, I’d class myself as a metalhead with a penchant for more intricate and complex compositions as well as having a love of melody and a weakness for guitar solos and over-the-top flamboyance… So then, why am I so beguiled by the new Dyscarnate record, ‘With All Their Might’, given that it features no guitar solos, next to nothing in terms of prog-like complexity and is straight-up brutal death metal that flirts with elements of hardcore?

It’s because ‘With All Their Might’ is heavy, uncompromising, brutal and groovy as all hell.

…once heard, has to be listened to again and again because it is so damn groovy, so wonderfully infectious and so gloriously heavy. At times, I simply cannot believe that such a full and bold sound can come from just three musicians.

In keeping with the tone and output of this record, I shall keep my conclusion simple and to-the-point. ‘With All Their Might’ is a brutal behemoth of a record, making it easily one of the best and most satisfying death metal albums of 2017.

‘With All Their Might’ is one of many surprises for me during 2017 and another clear example of my willingness to listen to albums that I might have steered well clear of in the past. As my review quotes above suggest, I’m not normally a fan of this kind of thing. And yet, here Dyscarnate are, nestled in my ‘top 30 albums of 2017’ list at no.26.

This record is a mighty slab of groove-laden, thunderous and unrelenting death metal, so much so that it is impossible to ignore. I’d heard the name before but Dyscarnate had never really registered with me because of the general descriptions that had been given about their music. When trawling through my emails looking for the next album to review, I stumbled across ‘With All Their Might’. Not expecting anything, I clicked the link to ‘Iron Strengthens Iron’ on YouTube and was literally blown away. The force of the music that this English trio produced practically sent me flying, only to be dumped unceremoniously on my backside some twenty feet from where I had been originally.

Immediately, I loved the brutality and the canyon-sized grooves that this track and many others on the record possessed. And the fact that ‘With All Their Might’ finds its way into my end-of-year top 30 is proof that I still find their gargantuan sound thoroughly engrossing. Every time I press play, my neck hurts, I feel battered and bruised but the whole experience is well worth it. And, sitting here now, I have to say that the dark, foreboding album closer, ‘Nothing Seems Right’ is fast becoming one of my favourite tracks of the year.